PRINCESS ANNE, Md. — Cayla Hicks became the first member of the storied Maryland Eastern Shore bowling program to make Junior Team USA, when she finished third among 152 female youth competitors at the 2019 Junior Team USA trials in Las Vegas, Nev., which wrapped up on Monday.
"I think I have had different moments throughout my college performance so far that have shown that I am going to be successful," Hicks said. "It's just a matter of timing to be right. It was like everything fell into place this week with the ball motion I had and the people I was around and the choices I made.
"I don't think the emotion ever actually really set in. I knew before the announcements I was going to make it, because I bowled my way to it rather than being selected. Obviously, I am ecstatic and I'm looking forward to all the things we have to do, but I was excited about it over a longer period of time. It wasn't an instant emotional thing."
Those eligible for Junior Team USA included players who have yet to turn 21 on Jan. 1, 2019. Hicks, a junior Chemistry/Pre-Pharmacy major, bowled six games a day for five days averaging a 202 and, by virtue of her finish among the field, earned one of just 12 invites to the Summer 2019 Training Camp to prepare for international competition.
"In the past when I have competed at this tournament, I do well at the beginning and then I kind of fall off at the end — I think because I wasn't prepared mentally to be able to last that long," Hicks said. "But, this year, the first two days I bowled really well and I was in the Top 10-15 overall. I was sitting in a way better position than I have been. I just needed to keep steady. I didn't have any one fantastic day or a horrible day just top to the middle of the pack the whole time."
Each day, the players bowled six games (which took between four and five hours) and at the end of that day were awarded points based on their place: one point for first, two for second and so on. At the end of the five days, the rankings were lowest total to highest for the finish. The steady week served her well on the final day, when the players tackled the most difficult pattern of the week.
Hicks' consistency had put her in a position to be in contention on the final day and she knew it, but she couldn't focus on her standing because she had no way of knowing how everyone else around her was doing.
"It was pretty brutal," Hicks said. "We watched the boys bowl before and there were very low scores. I was pretty confident I was going to be OK, but the whole day I just kept having to distract myself with other things instead of thinking about the result at the end. I was constantly telling myself to think about my targets or reminding myself what moves I was going to make or what my ball was doing. Anything so that I wasn't focused on something that hadn't happened yet."
By the end of the final day, she had finished 17th in the overall field which included youth, amateur and professional bowlers. The event also included the USA Amateur Championships and Team USA trials (players over age 21 Jan. 1, 2019 — including professionals).
"It is kind of intimidating bowling the same tournament as pros, but at the same time it lets you know that you are capable of competing at that kind of a level," Hicks said.
Hicks wasn't the only Hawk taking flight in Vegas. Brigitte Jacobs and Isabel Hughes, as well as former teammate Jalesa Johnson, who graduated in 2018 for the first several days all competed.
"We were always on the opposite ends of the bowling alley during competition, so I never really saw them during," Hicks said. "I saw them before and afterwards and during the practice session I was able to talk to them about lane play and just make sure we were seeing the same things. I was also able to talk to the other collegiate players I am friends with and I watched a lot because I was around a couple of pros, so if I was a little lost or not sure about ball change I'd peek over and see what they were doing and make a decision based on that."
Eastern Shore head coach Kayla Bandy was on hand for much of the competition having made the trip to Las Vegas to support her four bowlers. She had to return to campus before the end and followed the rest of the competition online. After much hand wringing throughout the evening and a lot of refreshing the results pages, she was elated to see the final results late Monday night.
"I am excited for the opportunity that she has earned to represent her country internationally and be trained by the best coaches in the industry," Bandy said. "It's great for the program because it is good for the girls to see that for the hard work that Cayla has put in there is light at the end of the tunnel and there are positive repercussions for putting in the work.
"It's also great for the program in that you have a student athlete that is representing your program at the national level."
The incredible performance helped underscore for the coach how far Hicks has come with her game and her mental toughness since arriving on campus before the 2016-17 season.
"She has improved immensely, not only physically and mentally, but she has just blossomed into a woman, while she has been here," Bandy said. "It's in part due to her training with our coaching staff as well as seminars that we have had with Ron Clifton and other professional who have come to the University to work with our student athletes.
"It's great timing for her career because she is in the middle of her collegiate career and she is going to receive training from the best coaches in the country, while in less than a year and a half she will be looking to go and compete at the professional level."
Just a few short years ago, Hicks was a quiet freshman on a team that advanced to both the NCAA and United States Bowling Congress (USBC) Intercollegiate Team Championships. The NCAA even ended with a heartbreaking loss that she probably wasn't yet equipped to deal with.
"I think I have been put into a lot of situations since then to prepare myself for this kind of tournament," Hicks said. It has taken a long time to be able to mentally withstand 30 games, because 30 games over five days is mentally and physically exhausting. You are constantly thinking about what is the next move and what is the next pair going to do and what ball do I need to change to. Bowling as much as we do in college has definitely helped and I think a lot of the experiences I have had even going to the NCAAs my freshman year has helped because you are bowling against higher level players and you are put in situation where you need to strike."
The energy and confidence from the event can only carry over into the second half of the Hawks season for Hicks. She returned to campus on Tuesday after a flight to Baltimore, knowing that she is physically and mentally prepared going into this semester — which will include USBC qualifying, the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) championship and hopefully a spot in both the USBC and NCAA Championship fields.
But she also returns to practice on Sharon Brummell Lanes with an eye toward the summer and what comes after the college season winds up.
"It definitely makes me want to work harder now, knowing this is something that I have wanted to accomplish for more than six years now," Hicks said. "Now that I have accomplished it, it's like I need to set some other kind of goal to be able to reach that whether it is another long-term goal or not.
"But now it just makes me want to work harder to make the travel roster for international tournaments when summer training comes around and not just end up saying I was on the team."